65.9 percent of 2013 high school graduates enrolled in college

May 08, 2014

Of the nearly 3.0 million youth age 16 to 24 who graduated from high school between January and October 2013, about 2.0 million (65.9 percent) were enrolled in college in October. The college enrollment rate of recent high school graduates in October 2013 was little different from the rate in October 2012 (66.2 percent).

Note: Dash indicates no data. Persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race; estimates for the race groups include Hispanics. Data beginning in 1994, 2001, and 2012 are not strictly comparable with estimates for prior years due to the introduction of new population controls from the decennial census.

For 2013 high school graduates, the college enrollment rate was 68.4 percent for young women and 63.5 percent for young men. The college enrollment rate of Asians (79.1 percent) was higher than the rates for recent White (67.1 percent), Black (59.3 percent), and Hispanic (59.9 percent) graduates.

In October 2013, 34.1 percent of recent high school graduates who were enrolled in college participated in the labor force—that is, they were working or looking for work. The participation rates for male and female high school graduates enrolled in college were 33.7 percent and 34.5 percent, respectively.

Note: Dash indicates no data. Persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race; estimates for the race groups include Hispanics. Data beginning in 1994, 2001, and 2012 are not strictly comparable with estimates for prior years due to the introduction of new population controls from the decennial census.

Among recent high school graduates enrolled in college in October 2013, 92.8 percent were full-time students. The labor force participation rate was 31.0 percent for full-time students, much lower than the rate of 73.8 percent for part-time students. About 6 in 10 recent high school graduates enrolled in college attended 4-year institutions. Of these students, 27.8 percent participated in the labor force, compared with 45.2 percent of recent graduates enrolled in 2-year colleges.

This information is from a supplement to the October 2013Current Population Survey, a monthly survey of about 60,000 households that provides national labor force data. Persons whose ethnicity is identified as Hispanic or Latino may be of any race. To learn more, see "College Enrollment and Work Activity of 2013 High School Graduates" (HTML) (PDF) news release USDL-14-0657.